Despite Good Snowpack, Idaho Streams Not Filling Like Hoped

With Memorial Day, the unofficial kick off to summer, this weekend, now is a good time to close the book on the snow season in Idaho.  Erin Whorton with NRCS said for the most part the 2024-2025 snow year was good with above normal snowpacks recorded across much of the Gem State.

“We did see below normal conditions in northern Idaho, specifically the headwaters of the Spokane River, the Coeur d'Alene/St. Joe area and in the Clearwater, and a little bit in southeast Idaho, the Bear River and the Raft River," she noted.  "But everywhere else is either at normal or well above normal.  It was especially wet in western Idaho.” 

Not As Much Water As Expected

While the snowpack was a positive, the way that snowpack is getting into area rivers and streams has not been encouraging.  Whorton said April was a challenging month.  It was extremely dry, the melt off started earlier than normal and occurred at a faster pace than normal statewide.  And on top of that, she says streams are not rising to the levels NRCS would expect with the snowpack recorded this winter.  With that in mind, Whorton is encouraging everyone to conserve when and where they can.

“Because April was so dry, when we issue a forecast at the beginning of each month, we did see a big decrease in stream flow forecast from the April 1 to the May 1 time period. So, just that dry weather really and the more rapid onset of snow melt led to a big decrease in stream flow forecast.  So, there's definitely less water predicted than we originally were thinking earlier in the winter. So, just we want folks to keep them close eye on this forecast and what their streams are actually doing in order to make the best decisions for their production.”

While stream levels aren’t great, Whorton noted the many of the reservoirs across the state are looking good for late May.  For our entire conversation with Whorton about the 2024-2025 snow year, listen to our podcast:

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